Chapter 4

I looked at Lucas, blood smeared at the corner of his mouth; at Charles, seething with anger; at Sophie, gloating; and at all the guests around us, watching the spectacle.

I felt like a clown, stripped bare and tossed onto the center stage for everyone to stare at.

My plan was a total disaster.

I wanted to pull a little stunt to get under Sophie's skin and make Charles look bad.

But now, things had blown up so badly that there was no way to fix it.

Lucas took a punch for me.

He even told everyone right there that my problems were his problems now.

I owed him big time.

But the worst part? I pulled him right into the whole ugly mess between Charles and me.

With the way Charles was, there was no chance he'd ever let Lucas get away with this.

Compared to the ruthless games in the business world, a fistfight was nothing.

What was I going to do?

My mind was racing, desperately searching for a way out.

Should I apologize? Try to explain?

No, it was way too late for that now.

Charles was so blinded by jealousy and rage that he wouldn't buy a single word I said.

I took a deep breath and made a decision.

I walked up to Lucas and took the bloodstained handkerchief from his hand.

Then, I stood on my tiptoes and gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

My movements were gentle and focused.

For a moment, it felt like nothing else existed, just him and the blood on his face.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, my voice shaky with tears and full of worry for him.

Lucas's body went rigid for a split second.

He looked at me, and in those deep eyes of his, I saw a storm of emotions I couldn't make sense of.

I didn't care about any of that.

I wanted everyone to see it. I actually cared about Lucas.

I wanted Charles to realize that the woman he tossed aside was someone another man would treat like gold.

I wanted Sophie to know that the guy she schemed so hard to steal wasn't even worth my time anymore.

This wasn't just playing innocent anymore.

This was like torturing Charles's heart, slicing it open bit by bit with the sharpest blade I could wield.

Sure enough, when Charles saw what I was doing, his eyes went so red it looked like he could cry blood.

He tore himself away from his friends, pointed straight at me, his voice raw and shaky.

"Lila, you two..." Charles called out.

He kept trying to say something, but couldn't even manage a full sentence.

After I finished wiping the blood from his mouth, I folded the handkerchief and tucked it away, then turned to face Charles, calm and collected.

"Charles Jennings," I said.

It was the first time I called him by his full name.

"We're done," I said.

With that, I didn't even look at him again. Instead, I turned to Lucas and managed a pale, shaky smile.

I asked, "Mr. Sterling, can you take me home?

"I don't want to stay here for even one more minute."

Lucas looked at me, pausing for a few seconds in silence.

He nodded.

"Alright," he replied.

Lucas gently took off his suit jacket and draped it over my shoulders, hiding the embarrassing wine stain on my dress so no one could see it.

Then, in front of everyone, he wrapped his arm around me and, one step at a time, walked me out of that place I couldn't stand anymore.

Behind us, Charles's hopeless scream and the crash of something being smashed rang out, sharp and jarring.

I knew that from this moment on, Charles and I were finished for good.

But my story with Lucas was getting started.

Turned out, this beginning was way more intense than I ever expected.